I cannot stand idly by while untruthful slander about Nebraska's premier agricultural product is slandered against in comparison to that grass Iowa tries to pass off as corn.
Fertile Soil: Iowa may have the most fertile soil, I cannot contest that. However Nebraska does much more with what it has. We've bred varieties of corn that are both resistant to drought and poor soil conditions - not to say that Nebraska soil is poor, black soil (mollisols) is one of the major soil orders in the state. We don't have as much as Iowa, but through ingenuity we've overcome this challenge and produce a respectable amount of corn despite not having the same advantages that Iowa has. We weren't born into our corn, we earned it.
Climate Advantage: Nebraska wasn't blessed with as abundant rainfall as Iowa was, early explorers granted us the moniker "The Great American Desert" for a reason and the sandhills are the remains of an ancient desert that have since become grass stabilized. However, unlike Iowa, we again earned our corn by digging deep and finding the power to overcome. Specifically with the Ogalala Aquifer. Nebraska contains the largest portion of the Ogalala Aquifer, and is the only state whose use of the aquifer results in a net gain of water. Iowa may have been blessed with abundant rainfall, but Nebraska corn is leading the way in sustainability in the face of climate crisis.
Variety Selection: Do you think this is a valid point at all? Nebraska corn has just as much variety as Iowa corn. I cannot bring up figures, but I guarantee we've bred just as many varieties for our environment as Iowa as - and our varieties are drought resistant. It's called sustainability, see my previous point.
Ethanol Production: So you lead the nation in a fuel source that will be extinct in 50 years? I won't get on my high horse about climate for this point, Nebraska corn is used primarily for feeding livestock which itself is a climate nightmare, but at least in 50 years I'll still get use out of a hamburger, I will not be putting ethanol in my car. Not to mention that even at E10 concentrations ethanol can cause damage to engines. Next time your engine breaks cause of all the cheap gas you're using, you can thank Iowa's "leading ethanol production". Next time you're eating an Omaha beef hamburger and crying tears of joy, thank Nebraska Corn.
Pride and Tradition: Corn is deeply rooted in Nebraska’s heritage and cultural identity. Generations of Nebraska farmers have dedicated their lives to perfecting the art of corn farming, passing down knowledge and techniques from one generation to the next. This shared heritage and deep pride in their corn-growing legacy contribute to the exceptional quality of Nebraska corn.
Iowa may win the quantity game, but when it comes to securing our future, the proud American tradition of earning what's ours instead of having it handed to us, overcoming adversity, and producing a product that will endure into the future - Nebraska Corn takes it all, and wins the quality game.
Much like Iowa football, Iowa Corn has settled down and become comfortable with mediocrity. They don't want quality or to earn anything, Iowa Corn will see a 9-3 season and say "this is acceptable, I can do this for 50 years". They're scared of risk. They'll never have the lowest lows, but they'll never have the highest highs either. Always a bridesmaid never a bride, and I think that's sad.

/LonghornNation Daily Off Topic Free Talk Thread

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5. Big 12 Conference to Establish Big 12 Mexico

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https://247sports.com/college/virginia/article/chase-morrison-commitment-virginia-cavaliers-football-recruiting-211265201/
https://247sports.com/playechase-morrison-46115200/

​
If you want to catch up on prior seasons, check out the master post below!
https://www.reddit.com/CFB/comments/13rssrf/bowls\_and\_the\_race\_for\_the\_mythical\_national/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

Setting the Stage

​

Team	record	AP	Coaches
BYU	12-0	1 (33)	1 (24)
Oklahoma	9-1-1	2 (16)	2 (8)
Florida	9-1-1	3 (6)	6 (2)
Washington	10-1	4 (1)	3 (1)
Nebraska	9-2	5	4
Ohio State	9-2	6	5

Important games and notes

• September 1: unranked BYU opened the season with a win at #3 Pittsburgh, 20-14. Pitt would finish the year 3-7-1.
• September 1st and 8th: Florida lost 20-32 vs #10 Miami then tied with unranked LSU 21-21. Following their 3rd game, head coach Charlie Pell was fired for committing numerous NCAA recruiting violations. Interim coach Galen Hall took over and the Gators went 8-0 rest of the way, but were barred from playing in a bowl game for the aforementioned violations.
• October 13: #3 Oklahoma tied #1 Texas, 15-15. The Horns would finish the year unranked
• October 27th: #2 Oklahoma lost to unranked Kansas in Lawrence, 11-28. Kansas would finish 5-6
• November 10th: #1 Washington lost at #14 USC, 7-16
• November 17th and 24th: #2 Oklahoma beat #1 Nebraska and #3 Oklahoma St in back to back weeks, effectively ending each team's national title hopes. The victory over Nebraska allowed BUY to ascend to #1 for the first time that season.
• November 24th: "Hail Flutie" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ykWbu2Gl0

​
1984 was a bit of a wild season, with 6 different teams spending time as #1 at some point. Only BYU stood unbeaten at 12-0 (besides Cal State Fullerton who wasn't even invited to a bowl). The Cougars were obligated to play in the Holiday bowl as WAC champions. Multiple teams (including Washington) turned down an invitation to play in the Holiday bowl, leading it to pair the Cougars with unranked Michigan. There was carnage everywhere as every other top 5 team minus Washington had either a 2nd lost or a tie on their resume. Additionally, Florida would have normally had gone to the Sugar Bowl as SEC champ, but their post season ban barred them from doing so, effectively eliminating them from national title contention. Washington actually finished 2nd to USC in the Pac 10, allowing them to accept an at large bid to the Orange Bowl vs #2 Oklahoma. Leading up to the bowls, Sooners coach Barry Switzer and Orange Bowl organizers campaigned heavily to convince pollsters that the Orange Bow should be the de facto national title game and blasted BYU's 'weak' schedule. Only time would tell if his politicking would work.
​

The Bowls

Holiday Bowl: #1 BYU vs unranked Michigan (December 21st)
Leading up to this game, even Michigan coach Bo Schembechler doubted BYU as he felt they're vaunted passing game was overrated relative to the other Big 10 teams his Wolverines faced. Although they were only 6-5, the Wolverine's were probably better than their record indicated. Mid season, starting QB Jim Harbaugh broke his arm vs Michigan St, leading to 4 losses in 6 games. Its a shame he hadn't yet discovered the bone strengthening powers of milk, something I like to think he learned from BYU after this game/season. Anyway, back to the game. After a scoreless 1st quarter, the teams' traded TDs in the 2nd. BYU kicked a late FG to lead 10-7 at half. The Wolverines scored the 2nd half's first 10 points to lead 17-10 before BYU tied it early 4th quarter at 17 all. It was a wild finish from there. Late in the 4th, BYU QB, Robbie Bosco threw a crucial pick, but the defense held and forced Michigan to punt on the ensuing possession. Bosco made the most of his 2nd chance for a game winning drive, and drove the Cougars down the field for a decisive TD with 1:23 left to win the game 24-17. The Cougars won their 24th consecutive game to finish 13-0 and stake their claim for their 1st national championship.
​
Orange Bowl: #2 Oklahoma vs #4/3 Washington
As previously mentioned, Barry Switzer campaigned before, and after, this game that the winner should be declared national champs. With a win, #2 Oklahoma would be hard for the Pollsters to ignore as their last two games including wins over top 10 teams. If Washington won, they would almost certainly jump idle Florida (in the AP) and Oklahoma, but would they receive enough love to leapfrog BYU? After all, they didn't even win the Pac 10 and had 0 wins over ranked teams entering the Orange Bowl. Regardless of whether or not the voters would listen to Switzer, it turned out to be a pretty good game. Washington raced out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, before Oklahoma rallied to tie it 14 all a the half. The Sooners then scored a FG early 4th to lead 17-14. Washington rallied with a 74 TD with less six minutes to go. Oklahoma muffed the ensuing kick off giving the Huskies the ball at the 2 and an easy TD to extend their lead to 28-17, which would hold as the final score.
​

Final Results

​

Team	Record	AP	Coaches
BYU	13-0	1 (38)	1 (28)
Washington	11-1	2 (16)	2 (11)
Florida	9-1-1	3 (6)	7 (1)

Despite protests, whining and screaming, BYU was voted #1 in each poll and claim its first ever consensus national championship. While Washington did receive double digit 1st place votes in each poll, it wasn't enough to leapfrog BYU. In fairness to BYU, Washington's schedule, outside of the Orange bowl win wasn't much better. Ironically Washington had their chance to play BYU head to head, but declined a Holiday bowl invite, choosing to play Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl instead. Love it, hate it, agree or disagree, BYU was your 1984 national champs. To date, this is the last time a team outside of one of the major conferences (PAC, SEC, Big 8/12, ACC, Big 10) that would win a championship in major college football.
*Washington and BYU would play in the the 1985 season, with BYU coming away with a 31-3 win.
​
Sources and recommended reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_rankings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_BYU_Cougars_football_team
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1985/01/03/nobodys-perfect-except-byu/dc99f936-238a-4870-ae14-129521bfd705/

Good? Neutral? We lock in Minnesota and Iowa every year. Any downsides?
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/37820350/big-ten-introduce-flex-protect-plus-football-schedule-model-2024

https://umterps.com/news/2023/6/8/big-ten-football-schedule-format-announced-for-2024-2025.aspx
TL;DR:

• Without divisions, the top two overall teams will advance to the league championship game.
• Maryland's only protected game going forward will be against Rutgers.
  • Indiana and Michigan are temporarily protected games, although only for the next two years.
• Instead of playing each team once every three years, Maryland will now play each team once every two years.
• Maryland will also play the University of Southern California (USC) for the first time in school history in 2024 right here in College Park.

Year	Site	Team 1	Team 2	Team 3	Team 4	Team 5
2024	Home	Michigan State	Purdue	Rutgers	USC	Wisconsin
2024	Away	Illinois	Indiana	Iowa	Michigan
2025	Home	Indiana	Michigan	Nebraska	Penn State
2025	Away	Minnesota	Northwestern	Ohio State	Rutgers	UCLA

​

The Big Ten has moved to a scheduling model they call Flex Protect Plus, in which each team plays 9 games, with 3 protected rivalries in every 2 year period. There are no divisions, which importantly means that there is no guarantee that we will get to the Big Ten Championship game with 2 or fewer undefeated teams. Since the schedules are now published, we can see what combinations of 3 or more Big Ten teams in 2024 and 2025 do not play each other, and therefore could get through the conference slate unscathed. This would obviously make one of these teams a little unhappy for missing the conference championship.

Schedules in Text

The announcement has the images graphically, but I hadn't seen them in text yet, so I converted them and put them in the spreadsheet above. Feel free to use and share if it's useful to you.
I wrote a brief Python script to go through and identify combinations of teams that don't play. Here are the sets in each year.

2024

3 teams

• Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State
• Illinois, Penn State, UCLA
• Illinois, UCLA, Wisconsin
• Indiana, Iowa, Michigan
• Indiana, Ohio State, USC
• Indiana, Rutgers, USC
• Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern
• Iowa, Michigan, Penn State
• Iowa, Michigan, Purdue
• Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern
• Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State
• Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State
• Maryland, Penn State, UCLA
• Michigan State, Minnesota, USC
• Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin
• Michigan State, UCLA, Wisconsin
• Nebraska, Ohio State, USC
• Nebraska, Rutgers, USC
• Northwestern, Rutgers, Wisconsin

4 teams
None!

2025

3 teams

• Illinois, Iowa, Rutgers
• Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State
• Illinois, Michigan, Rutgers
• Illinois, Michigan, USC
• Illinois, Michigan State, Rutgers
• Iowa, Ohio State, Rutgers
• Iowa, Ohio State, UCLA
• Maryland, Michigan State, Purdue
• Maryland, Purdue, USC
• Maryland, Purdue, Wisconsin
• Michigan, Minnesota, Rutgers
• Michigan, Minnesota, UCLA
• Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue
• Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers
• Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers
• Minnesota, Ohio State, UCLA

4 teams

• Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, USC
• Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, UCLA
• Indiana, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State
• Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin
• Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin

Please note that the SEC has only 8 conference games, and so there will likely be many more of these for them.

Big Ten announces that they are doing away with divisions, once UCLA and USC joins. There will be a 9-game schedule, with limited protected rivalries (Michigan is the only one for MSU). Each pairs of teams will play home-and-way within a 4-year window. MSU will only play Indiana, Penn State, and Michigan twice in 2024-2025:
https://bigten.org/news/2023/6/8/big-ten-conference-announces-exciting-future-football-schedule-formats-for-2024-and-2025.aspx
Here are MSU's opponents for 2024:
AWAY Maryland Michigan Nebraska Penn State
HOME Illinois Indiana Ohio State Purdue Rutgers
Opponents for 2025:
AWAY Indiana Iowa Minnesota USC Wisconsin
HOME Michigan Northwestern Penn State UCLA

2024: @Illinois, @Minnesota, @Ohio State, @Rutgers, @USC, Maryland, Nebraska, UCLA, Wisconsin
2025: @Indinia, @Nebraska, @Purdue, @Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State
Per https://twitter.com/ScottDochterman/status/1666899353619816467?t=YShtZdXXTHgS5aL8CndXQQ&s=09

Here are the "two-play" opponents for the first cycle of the new schedule (2024-2025). Protected games are in bold, "two-play" games are not:
Illinois: Northwestern, Purdue, Ohio State
Indiana: Purdue, Michigan State, Maryland
Iowa: Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin
Maryland: Rutgers, Indiana, Michigan
Michigan: Ohio State, Michigan State, Maryland
Michigan State: Michigan, Penn State, Indiana
Minnesota: Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska
Nebraska: Iowa, Minnesota, UCLA
Northwestern: Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue
Ohio State: Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern
Penn State: Michigan State, USC, Rutgers
Purdue: Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern
Rutgers: Maryland, Penn State, UCLA
UCLA: USC, Nebraska, Rutgers
USC: Penn State, Wisconsin, UCLA
Wisconsin: Minnesota, Iowa, USC
The Athletic's description of how it works: "For example, UCLA is a two-play opponent for Nebraska for the first two years of the new schedule. In 2026, all of the non-permanent two-play opponents will rotate. Iowa has three permanent opponents, so it doesn’t have two-play opponents that change. Penn State has no protected rivalries, so all three of its two-plays will change."
Source: https://theathletic.com/4594628/2023/06/08/big-ten-football-schedule-protected-opponents/

A few months ago I cranked up the difficulty sliders and started a new dynasty file with a goal in mind: experimenting on defense. For years I have worked with offensive playbooks altering audibles, formation subs, and crazy formations, but always kept it simple running standard 4-3 defenses. A base 4-2-5 defense is by no means 'crazy' but it does afford me an opportunity to work with unique personnel and fun blitz packages. As a Buffalo Bills fan, the versatility of the safeties and the coverage skills of the linebackers in this formation was something that I undoubtedly looked towards as inspiration in my teambuilding and recruiting strategy with a college team. Implementing the 4-2-5 into my arsenal is where I was able to recruit and play with my favorite player thus far: Kevin Dodds, SS #8.
For those who might not be familiar, base defenses are typically labeled by the number of defensive linemen followed by the number of linebackers. Some of the most common base defenses are the 3-4 (three d-linemen and four linebackers) and the 4-3 (four d-linemen and three linebackers). A 4-2-5 differs in that it maintains the pass-rushing benefits of the four linemen with a boost in coverage by sacrificing a linebacker for an additional secondary defender. A common downfall of the 4-2-5 is a struggle stopping the run because typically an outside linebacker can tackle better than a secondary defender. Sometimes the fifth secondary defender is a nickel corner, but in NCAA 14 that fifth defender is the backup strong safety. The 4-2-5 formation has that second strong safety acting as a hybrid-type player in the box, close to the line of scrimmage.
The key principles behind the defense are being fast and physical. Some key personnel characteristics are as follows:

• DL: big linemen who can plug gaps and engage multiple blockers
• OLB: excellent tackler capable of pressuring the quarterback and stopping the run
• MLB: great zone coverage and better-than-decent at stopping the run
• CB: excel in press coverage and quick enough to stay with with a receiver
• FS: blazing speed and elite zone coverage
• SS1: similar build to FS, usually converted from FS or CB
• SS2: high speed, medium/high strength, great hit power and tackling

I encountered Kevin Dodds in either the first or second season of the dynasty. He was a 200 pound, 5'-11" four star recruit at the strong safety position with an overall in the mid-to high 70s. The dude had speed like a running back, strength like an offensive lineman, and tackling and block shedding skills like a defensive end.
It was early in the dynasty of a one star school so the existing talent around him was far from ideal. I decided to redshirt him his true freshman year and dedicated lots of recruiting capital to filling out the defense around him over the next couple of seasons. Dodds immediately stormed the scene of college football and asserted himself as one of the premiere defensive players - at any position - in the country. Initially, most of his time on the field was while the defense was in its base 4-2-5 coverage as a hybrid safety, but as the coaching staff learned how to utilize his strengths the defensive playbook evolved to showcase him.
The dollar 3-2-6 formation was utilized more when necessary and a formation sub put Dodds in the fourth cornerback spot behind the left defensive end. This position keeps him near the line of scrimmage to disrupt any potential running plays, but it also includes a wide variety of DB blitz packages. Dodds thrived in this formation in particular on obvious passing downs in the NCAA Blitz series of play calls, which has man coverage, cover 2, and cover 3 variations. Whether or not his blitz was disguised didn't matter. He had the speed to evade the offense's right tackle and the block shedding and strength to get past any half back in pass protection.
A bit later in his career, after a couple of off-seasons in which he could continue to be in the weight room gaining strength, the coaching staff got creative and subbed him into the 5-2 formation as the right defensive end. This effectively allowed him to play this formation in a three point stance in the 9-tech, although the right defensive end does assume coverage responsibilities in the flats in cover 2 and cover 3. A huge benefit of this formation allows him to set the edge on outside run plays when a slower, traditional edge would have a tougher time.
In all defensive sets he was afforded the chance to be on the field as a pash rushing, run stuffing, havoc wreaking disrupter. Run heavy offenses were stifled by the crowded box of the 4-2-5, not knowing which defenders would blitz and which would drop into coverage. Quarterbacks couldn't get rid of the ball fast enough to evade the rush of the 5-2, particularly the 5-2 Pinch which sent the OLB as described above blitzing alongside the five linemen. When offenses tried to spread the field by adding wide receivers: good luck. The dollar formation assigned Dodds to the tight end, the running back, or the slot receiver who he was more than capable of covering. In a pinch, many plays in the formation sent him on a blitz towards an overloaded offensive line. Even in quarter formation the strong safety lurks in the box near the middle linebacker and can control the pace of the opponent with an occasional blitz or short yard zone coverage near the line of scrimmage.
Dodds made a huge impact as a redshirt freshman, leading the team to one of the best statistical defenses in the country and joining Charles Woodson by winning the triple crown for defensive backs: the Bednarik, the Nargurski, and the Thorpe awards.
His sophomore season was cut short due to injury, but during that time the defense around him really started to take shape. He sprang right back into shape his junior season and won the Thorpe and Bednarik awards.
Halfway through his senior season he set the school record for career sacks and continues to build upon that record to the point in which it seems insurmountable. He also holds the NCAA record for the most number of sacks by an individual in a single game. He is a finalist for many of the same defensive awards he won in years past and is looking to cement himself as the greatest defensive back in all of college football late in his senior season, leading his team to an undefeated record with hopes of the national championship game.
Kevin Dodds is likely the greatest player I have ever developed in my time as a coach in NCAA 14. I had never prioritized ‘hard hitting’ safeties before installing and building around a 4-2-5 defense, so I had never been able to coach into action formations with incredible defensive back blitzes.
I hope reading this reminds you all why NCAA 14 is the greatest sports video game of all time. After a decade of playing this game on and off I still find myself returning with more to learn and more to experiment with. Thank you to those who took the time to read this and follow the career of Kevin Dodds and my journey through a custom defensive playbook.
—
Kevin Dodds, Senior (RS) - Player Skills
OVR: 98 SPD: 95 ACC: 99 AGI: 83 AWR: 99 TAK: 94 MCV: 80 ZCV: 82 PRC: 85 HPW: 89 CTH: 78 PUR: 96 STR: 80 PCV: 84 BSH: 93

We’re going into our ninth season of our redraft H2H Yahoo 12 team league and are looking to recruit a couple of new managers that want to play seasoned managers that know the game and play tough the whole season.
If you love fantasy football, really love fantasy football... we play 16 weeks > last two weeks are playoffs.
QB, 2RB, 3WR, TE, K, DEF, DT, LB, DB and 5 player bench.
Having a short bench really makes this league super competitive with very active waivers and many trades.
This is a well managed, competitive, fun, free league where the only cost is sweat and tears. We chat throughout the year using Discord chat and do a group video meetup about once a month during the NFL season.
Must have at least three years verifiable fantasy season experience and want to partake in the social aspect of the league through Discord chat and events
https://tucsonffl.wordpress.com/testimonials/

We’re going into our ninth season of our redraft H2H Yahoo 12 team league and are looking to recruit a couple of new managers that want to play seasoned managers that know the game and play tough the whole season.
If you love fantasy football, really love fantasy football... we play 16 weeks > last two weeks are playoffs.
QB, 2RB, 3WR, TE, K, DEF, DT, LB, DB and 5 player bench.
Having a short bench really makes this league super competitive with very active waivers and many trades.
This is a well managed, competitive, fun, free league where the only cost is sweat and tears. We chat throughout the year using Discord chat and do a group video meetup about once a month during the NFL season.
Must have at least three years verifiable fantasy season experience and want to partake in the social aspect of the league through Discord chat and events
https://tucsonffl.wordpress.com/testimonials/

With the recent news that a potential consortium of players may boycott their NIL being included due to the $ amount being too low, I propose this as viable options and am curious what the community thinks.
HOW REAL ARE THE PLAYERS, REALLY?
As great as it could/would be to have a roster full of real players on day 1 so we can play as our favorite players and give them virtual glory - real players in a college game is not cental to the overall experience. When we talk about building a dynasty, we do not talk about making sure Jake Plaster, 3-star QB out of Dunedin, FL, who is going to be a true frosh at Florida Atlantic this year, wins a Heisman. We talk about turning FAU into a ACC or SEC powerhouse.
Don't get me wrong, the story we could create with Jake Plaster would be a fun one. But if you're not already a FAU fan, or from Dunedin, FL, would you know if I just made this guy up? Because I did. The actual player is Luke Rucker, 3-star QB out of Sanford, FL.
If we had real rosters with the game, in any given dynasty a maximum of 5 "real" players are going to win the Heisman. Most of us will play for 10, 12, 15, 30 years of a dynasty. Being able to watch the real Luke Rucker do well in college football might be cool if we did something great with him. Or he could be a total flop, transfer to a FCS team after his frosh year, convert to Safety, and end up a sales executive for John B. Stetson hat company in 10 years.
​
THE FOCUS IS THE SCHOOL, NOT THE PLAYERS
What I think we want out of our college football game is that FAU feels like FAU, and Alabama feels like Alabama.
I'm a pretty big college football fan, have been for the better part of 30 years. I'm a Mizzou guy, was at school there in the 90s when Larry Smith was the coach and Corby Jones was our QB and we played in some great games. I was a season ticket holder with my dad for the entire Gary Pinkel era, I earned a reputation among Mizzou online communities for making highlight videos of Mizzou's games from 2006-2010ish, and even contributed a bit to the beginning of www.rockmnation.com with Bill Connelly before Rock M became a part of SB Nation's huge surge and Bill Connelly became the force of nature he is.
I say all of that to say that I don't have a clue who is on Alabama's roster without looking it up. I can name a few players, sure, but I have no idea really. And I'm willing to bet we're all in this boat - we know who some of the big players are, but if you're going to start a new dynasty with Troy you MIGHT know one of their players unless you're already a Troy fan.
What I do know about Alabama is that they should have as much talent on the field as any team in college football. I know Bryant-Denny Stadium is huge, and should be sold out for every game, and have a sea of crimson and cream other than the visiting fan sections in the seats. I know their chants, I know their fight songs, I know they have good looking cheerleaders because it's the south, and I know they expect to win every game they play.
And that's what CFB24 should be aiming at. NIL of the real players isn't icing on the cake. It's not even sprinkles on the icing. It's getting rainbow sprinkles instead of all one color.
​
ROSTER PARAMETERS ARE THE ANSWER
CFB24 and beyond, just like its predecessors, will be great in part if the game is good at generating a balance of realistic fictional players for years to come. If we can't get that, then the rest of this is all meaningless.
In the past, and especially those of us old enough to remember the days even before DT Linder, etc., either named the rosters ourselves or just played with WR #81 for a couple of years. And just like one of my above paragraphs pointed out, it didn't matter that we didn't know his real name because we didn't know his real name anyway. He may have been just like the real WR #81 on that team, but honestly we have no idea. And it was fine because the game was fun.
So, making the assumption that the game is capable of creating balanced, realistic, fictional players - lean into it.
The game, at startup, should create fictional rosters for every single team. Every one of us will get a different roster to start. Each player will have a name, height, weight, skin tone, number, hometown, abilities, style, uniform combo, etc. But it's procedurally generated from the start, so any similarities will be purely coincidental and will never repeat.
Each team can be hardcoded for year 1 to have certain parameters their roster should meet, and it will make schools feel authentic from the start.
Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, etc., should be full of players that were recruited as 4-star and 5-star players out of HS, with 3-star players filling the depth chart. You can easily find data from the past 10+ years showing what a typical class breakdown looks like for schools to break it down to what % of the roster is RS SR, SR, RS JR, JR, RS SO, SO, RS FR, FR. What % of the roster is a certain position to meet their current play style. What % of the roster is from home state, vs neighboring states, vs the rest of the country (which will help make Pipeline States feel accurate for recruiting).
So when you start your game, and you get a QB1 at USC named Michael Moss, wearing #5, that is a RS SO, standing 6'3" weighing 225 lbs, is from Las Vegas, NV, is a 86 OVR and looks like a new version of Cam Newton, how many of you are going to take to the streets because "BUT THAT'S NOT CALEB WILLIAMS!"
Of course it's not Caleb Williams. But he's a stud QB at USC, the band is playing 'Fight On' as he runs out of the tunnel and the Trojan is stabbing his sword into midfield, thousands of USC fans have 2 fingers in the air, and you're about to put a beating on UCLA. You're already trying to recruit his replacement because Michael Moss is leading the Heisman Hopefuls for you this season, and as a RS SO he's sure to go Pro after the year you're having with him. And that 5-star Athlete is going to make a great QB.
And by year 2 the rosters are 25% fiction anyway.
I'd say just lean into it and start them fictional from day 1.
The most important thing we can get is the schools are represented accurately and believably. It's not about the players, and honestly never has been.